KOSJEREVO MONASTERY

Beautiful, harmonious, made of greyish white stone, and somewhat monumental, the Kosijerevo Monastery is located on the right bank of the River Trebišnjica, near the place bearing the same name, at the far southwest of Banjani.

It was built in the first half of the 14th century. Not long ago, in 1966, the monastery was relocated. It was moved to the Petrović Village because its original location Kosjerevo was flooded with the water of the Bileća Lake. Even on this new location, the Serbian medieval Monastery Kosjerevo is still used as a place of worship.

The monastery church is dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Mother of God and was erected in the first half of the 14th century. The famous master Urošević from Belgrade carved the iconostasis in 1964, and the church was painted by Naum Andrić. In the monastery there is a chapel dedicated to the Holy Apostle of Luke, which was sanctified in 2004.

During the Ottoman period, the monastery played a role not only as the spiritual but also as the cultural and political centre. It had a very important role in the unification of Herzegovina in the fight against the Ottomans. The relics of St. Arsenius were kept in this monastery from 1884 to 1914. After that, they were transferred to the Monastery Ždrebaonik.

The foot of the Saint Apostle Luke is currently kept in the monastery.

Latitude: 42.77329 | Longitude: 18.498273